The Plan
- Tristan / Aerienne, Darren, Odyssa, Rodan ; Maryanne's Treasure
-- Afternoon of Day 2
by Kat


Tristan stared at the new entrant in surprise. Aerianne, as Odyssa called her, stood just behind the doorframe, body taut and ready to move at any second. A hand flew to the hilt of his rapier out of instinct; he could detect the slight crouch of Darren from his side as he followed suit. Blue eyes narrowed slightly. "Won't you come and join us, miss?"

Aerianne frowned, tossed one baleful glare to Rodan before stepping through the doorway. Tension-filled silence reigned as she slowly sank to a seat, after Odyssa gave her a reassuring look. The rest of the party eventually seated themselves, and Tristan cleared his throat to interrupt the unbearable reticence.

"Miss Aerianne, I hope you realize I cannot condone any misdemeanors on your part to my crew," the pirate began, baby-blues hardening slightly. "If I find you have injured any, I believe we both know that the consequences will not be pleasant."

Aerianne met his gaze. "They aren't harmed. Just unconscious."

Tristan relaxed a fraction and smiled slightly. "Was it really necessary?"

The woman didn't answer; only shot another glare to Rodan. Once she got the information she needed from this pirate.. somehow, she could kill him and manage to get Odyssa out as well. At the moment, however, she didn't like the odds. The redhead kid looked about to stand up and fight at a moment's notice -- and the pirate was capable in combat as well. Perhaps her revenge would have to wait.

"I think this information will be of some interest to you. We are in the middle of the sea connecting Alane and Igan; currently, we're heading northwest. Osea is our destination."

Aerianne cursed inwardly, but managed to keep a straight face anyhow. "Fine." She decided to get to the point. "Tristan Marcus, I want to know where the Four Stones of the Elements are."

"Yes! Please tell us!" Odyssa piped up, hands clenched into tiny fists.

The blond sighed, eyes closing. "I'm afraid the rumors about me knowing where they are located are greatly exaggerated. I have a map that supposedly leads to the Stone of Fire. It is in Javi." He leaned back in his seat and folded his arms. "That is, as far as I know. The map could be a fake. Are you two willing to take the risk?"

"Yes," both women answered in unison.

Darren rolled his eyes and muttered, "I still don't get it with you guys. What's so important about these Stones you keep talking about?"

"Supposedly, once one has collected all four Stones, he or she will be granted their own interpretation of 'happiness,'" Rodan answered. He shot a calculating look toward Aerianne, one dark eyebrow raised. "It doesn't matter if the person's idea of 'happiness' is good or not; if some psycho got ahold of them and decided the destruction of Vita would make him happy, then it'd happen."

Tristan nodded. "Which is why we should be cautious with such power." He paused, lowered his eyes for a moment before fixing them all with a slight smile. "Even if the person isn't worthy of gathering the Stones… I'd like to try. Even if it's selfish of me."

Yet again, silence overcame them all. After a few moments, Darren blinked. "So are you going to show us the map?"

"Yes, of course." The pirate slipped a hand underneath the table and searched around for a few moments before hitting a small switch. A hidden drawer suddenly slid into view, and Tristan lifted the map resting there only to set it on the table. "This map was given to me by my adoptive grandfather. He said he received it from his father, and so on. It was supposedly used by the last person who found the Stone of Fire."

Aerianne leaned forward and examined the map with narrowed eyes. "Wouldn't the location change after so many years?"

"That's why using this map is a risk," Tristan replied. "I'm not sure if it's correct."

"Why haven't you gone searching for the Stone before, if you've had this map for such a long time?" Darren asked, blinking. "I don't get it."

"No reason to," the blond smiled slightly and shrugged. "Anyway, it's kept in a temple --" his finger trailed a narrowed line, only to stop at a picture of a small building with four towering pillars surrounding it. An ink drawing of a sand lizard coiled its tongue about the entrance. " -- Here. Using a current map…" he nodded to one tacked to the wall. ".. It should be north of Queen Ijin's territory. I say a hundred miles or so."

"That's a long way to travel," observed Rodan, frowning thoughtfully. "We'd have to get proper supplies. And that wouldn't be cheap."

"It's no problem, right?" Odyssa asked, reaching to tug on Tristan's sleeve. "You've stolen enough money to pay for all of it, surely!"

The blond cleared his throat, uncomfortable. He nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, I have enough to not worry about expenses for awhile. The more pressing matter is how we cooperate." He shot a look to Aerianne. "I hate to single you out, but you've been the most trouble. Are you willing to work with us?"

The woman was silent for a moment, thinking. Then, "Yes."